The acting director general of the Spanish Space Agency (ESA), Miguel Belló, recently addressed the main national space and defense industry executives at a forum in Seville. In his speech, Belló discussed the strategic opportunities and challenges faced by the newly constituted organization.
Belló highlighted several new prospects, including projects under the Aerospace PERTE, which will surpass 5,000 million euros. These projects aim to generate synergies and optimize resources, allowing the Spanish space industry to expand its presence globally.
One significant initiative is Spain’s pursuit of autonomy in access to space. Belló emphasized the need to develop a national vector for launching small satellites. Two consortia led by PLD Space and Pangea Aerospace have been awarded a 45 million euro project for this purpose. The results will be evaluated, and the consortium with the highest degree of maturity and feasibility will proceed with the development of a prototype by December 2025.
Another important proposal is the Atlantic Constellation, a bilateral project with Portugal that may also involve Greece and the United Kingdom in the future. The objective of this project is to deploy a network of at least 16 small satellites in low orbit to gather data and images related to climate change and emergency management during natural disasters.
In terms of industrial development, Belló emphasized the need for satellite manufacturing to align with the automotive industry and move towards mass production. The European Space Agency (ESA) will launch a tender in November for the development and manufacture of eight out of the 16 satellites assigned to Spain.
Belló also highlighted the significance of quantum key transmission for future security. The Secretary of State for Telecommunications is undertaking an ambitious project with a budget of 125 million euros to establish a quantum key transmission system (QKD) from geostationary orbits.
These strategic opportunities and challenges demonstrate the commitment of the Spanish Space Agency to enhance the strength and capabilities of the Spanish space industry both domestically and internationally.
